Trump Administration Halts Plan to Use Retired Pentagon Lawyers for Unaccompanied Migrant Children

The Trump administration abruptly ended a proposal to enlist recently retired or soon-to-retire Pentagon attorneys as counsel for unaccompanied minors facing deportation. According to the New York Times, officials from the Defense Department and the Health and Human Services Department had been coordinating the recruitment, which would have shifted lawyers whose primary experience lies in military courts-martial, weapons contracts and the laws of armed conflict to immigration proceedings. The move was cancelled weeks after the administration announced a short-term contract with the human-trafficking nonprofit Our Rescue to provide legal representation for the children.

New York Times

For years, a federal contract with a network of legal nonprofit groups supplied attorneys to the more than 20,000 unaccompanied minors with pending immigration cases. That contract expired the previous month, leaving a gap that the administration attempted to fill first with the Our Rescue agreement and then with the Pentagon-lawyer plan. Advocates have warned that the children are especially vulnerable amid the administration’s broader push for mass expulsions.

New York Times

• Our Rescue – nonprofit primarily focused on human-trafficking cases; newly contracted to represent migrant children.

New York Times

• Pentagon lawyers – retired or soon-to-retire military attorneys with limited immigration-court experience.

New York Times

• Defense Department & Health and Human Services – agencies reported to be coordinating the recruitment effort.

New York Times

Department officials told the New York Times that the Pentagon-lawyer approach was intended as a stopgap measure while a longer-term solution was explored. HHS representatives emphasized their responsibility for the welfare of children lacking a parent or legal guardian in the United States. Critics, cited by the newspaper, argue that both Our Rescue and the Pentagon lawyers lack the specialized experience required for immigration court advocacy.

New York Times

The cancellation deepens uncertainty about how the federal government will meet its legal obligation to protect the rights of unaccompanied migrant children. With the prior nonprofit contract ended and the new arrangements questioned for their suitability, advocates fear that the children could face increased risk of deportation without adequate legal representation.

New York Times